Boeing: UK joins countries blocking aircraft

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority, CAA, has banned the Boeing 737 MAX from operating in or over UK airspace “as a precautionary measure”. The decision comes after an Ethiopian Airlines plane crashed on Sunday, killing 157 people on board. It was the second fatal accident involving the 737 Max 8 model in less than five months.

The UK joins Singapore, China, South Korea, Malaysia and Australia, in grounding the jets. However, US officials say the aircraft are still safe to fly. In a move that was welcomed by British pilots, the CAA said the directive would remain in place until further notice. Tui Airways and Norwegian both operate the Boeing Max 8 in the UK as part of their fleets.

In a statement, the CAA said it took the decision because it did not currently have “sufficient information” from the flight data recorder about the fatal crash.

A Tui statement confirmed their 737 Max 8 aircraft were grounded. Norwegian said it had also suspended flights of the aircraft and apologised for the inconvenience to passengers.